Chuck vs. the Aisle of Terror: Thoughts from a Ho

Without a doubt highlight of this latest episode was definitely the return of Mama B.  Ever since that little preview we got at the start of the season I've been counting down the days until she appeared again.  We know Mama B is a badass but this episode gave us a little more insight to Mary Elizabeth Bartowski is while at the same time raising a lot more questions.

Question 1: How much does Mama B know?

We know Mama B knew about Chuck's search but the question remained how much more did she know?  This episode told us that while she knows all about the Intersect and Agent Carmichael, she doesn't seem to know any personal information about her children.  She didn't know who Sarah was so to me that means we can safely assume she hasn't been visually keeping tabs on her children.  But shouldn't she know who Carmichael's team is?  I suppose the real question I have is where she got her information.  Does she know Chuck is the Intersect through files?  Did Stephen tell her?  Does she even know that he's dead?  I hope the next episode addresses these questions.


Question 2:  Does Mama B care about the fact she left?

Linda Hamilton sold the line when she said she wished could do it over again she would and I believed her.  Sure she shot her son but it was for his own good!  The speech she gave to Chuck combined with the longing looks she had when she was spying on Ellie seemed to contract what she said about not wanting to know about her children's lives.  She wants to know, she just knows she shouldn't.  I think the Bartowski family wants a fresh start and I hope the get it... you know after Chuck breaks her out of the captivity his girlfriend put her in.


Question 3: Is Mama B part of the good guys?

Ahh the age old question.  She did come out of hiding to prevent nerve gas from hitting the market, so yes.  She shot her son.  Hmmm maybe not then.  But then she helped him out again.  So yes?

This episode did a great job of keeping the answer to this question grey.  No, she isn't like Papa B where we knew he was good the whole time.  In fact, it is obvious Mary is no saint but I don't think she has bad intentions either.  She may not be helping the CIA but I don't think she is hurting them either.  All she seems to want is her family to be safe, and in Chuck's world that is really all that matters.


Final Question:  Are you happy with the Mama B storyline?

I think it is safe to say that from the moment it was mentioned Chuck's mom left our minds have been churning and every possible scenario has been thought of.   So the question is, has it lived up to what you wanted?  Are you happy that Mama B is in the picture or would you have rather they left the story alone?

Some Additional Thoughts:

• As strong as the Mama B stuff was in this episode, the rest of it seemed subpar.  Sure there were some moments but as usual the Buy More just wasn't as strong.

• Did anyone know Devon's mom was going to be in the episode!?  I surely had no clue.  I think Morgan Fairchild was sort of under used but I've felt that way about a lot of the guests and stunt casting.  If only Chuck was a longer show....

• Can Jeff get creepier?  I don't think so but I've thought that way too often before. 

• Now that we've seen Chuck's mom, are we ever going to find out the story on Sarah's?  Man I hope so.

Next week it looks like our favorite couple hits a rocky patch seeing as Sarah sort of kidnapped Chuck's mom and accused her of being evil.  Hey, it happens.  I'm sure they'll kiss and make up... okay well that's at least what I want to see.  How about you?

Rules of Commenting.

1. Be nice!
2. No releasing nerve gas on others.

Morgan, Morgan, Morgan...

Unfortunately I've been busy and haven't been able to do full reviews of the past couple of episodes.  It safe to say I enjoyed them especially that big, gorgeous statue of the Captain and the squee moment of Sarah admitting she was ready for the next step.  Oh, and as always Casey being a badass.  However, what really caught my attention last episode was Morgan.  

I've commented on how much Morgan has grown but it seems once again he's reached a new level.  No, he's no mister suave spy but it seems Morgan is part of the spy team and willing to take a risk to help the team out.  I mean the guy got shot and electrocuted!  I'd say the little bearded man is far from his sexting days on missions.  More so, Morgan seems like an adult... well as much as an adult as he can be.  He is taking charge in the Buy More and he's now entered an adult relationship.  

I love Alex and Morgan together for a lot of reasons.  The main one being the comedic potential but also because Morgan is moving away from Chuck as his crutch.  Although the bromance and those Halo marathons will always be there, it seems Morgan is ready for more.

It is sometimes hard to believe that the Morgan I love so much is the same annoying gnome that always got in Chuck's way in the beginning of the show.  Kudos to Josh Gomez for making us love the furry bastard and the writing staff for making Morgan more than just an annoying sidekick.  Now all Agent Grimes has to do is not get killed by Casey.  Shouldn't be too hard, right?

So what do you think?  Are you happy where Morgan is in the show?

Chuck full season 4 - It's official!

Yesterday, Ausiello gave Chuck fans something to get excited about -- NBC's plan to pick up Chuck for a full season.

Today, NBC gives Chuck fans an early Christmas present. The network finally ordered not 6, not 9 but 11 more episodes of the show!! Thank you NBC! Season 4 with 24 episodes means 24 hours of pure awesome, fun, Chucktastic TV time!

Now that the "full season 4" mission is accomplished, Chuck peeps, are you ready to take on your next mission? (Yes, I'm talking about Season 5!)


Don't forget to watch Chuck LIVE on Mondays 8/7c at NBC.

Chuck vs. the Cubic Z: Thoughts from a Ho

This past Chuck episode is once again in the middle of a fan battle with some people loving it and others… well not so much.   This week we got our first taste of new blood with Nicholas Wootton.  To give dear ol’ Nick some props I didn’t think the writing was bad and actually thought he wrote our two leads very well.  In fact I actually really enjoyed a lot of this episode.  However, there was a cancer this week and it can be stated in two words: Buy More.

Let’s get the bad, or rather awfully horrendous, out of the way first.  To say the Buy More plotline was subpar would be kind.  The Buy More is usually a favorite (or least not such a dead weight) among fans so what went so wrong this week?  The first issue for me would be that the plotline was just not fresh.  We may not have seen this plot specifically but we’ve seen variations of it, and better.  The second problem, which was the lack of humor from the Buy More gang, is an extension of that.  It is hard for something to be funny if you’ve heard, or seen, the joke before.   However, here I’ll knock the writer a bit since despite the bad plot, we still could’ve had some good lines.  Jeffster usually has great subtle one-liners but they were nowhere to be found in this episode.  Morgan, who is also usually funny, was too stressed out about the lack of games issue to really be classic Morgan (although I did like the small bromance scene).  And this brings me to my biggest issue with the plotline.   It just didn’t make sense.  Sure I’ll look beyond the fact there are no games available even though the Buy More is run by the CIA and should therefore be able to avoid this potholes.  However, what I can’t get over is the fact that a riot by the angry mob of customers occurred.  It is the freaking CIA! They should be able to handle civilians.  Sure Morgan had the slackers rehired but when a simple button in the Buy More can cause us to go to DEFCON 1, I’d think there’d be a little more control.  For all we know, half of the United States could have been blown up from the loads of craps that was trampled over.   I repeat: it just didn’t make sense.  More so, because the CIA runs the Buy More there was potential for a plot that was new and funny.  Customers, expecting to show the store a piece of their mind, could have been arrested, gassed, put into order, etc. leaving them dumbfounded.  I wanted a “What would Casey do with a fan riot?” not a reprise of the Buy More a la Season 2.

Okay, now that I got that out of the way I can move onto the other aspects of the episode specifically Nicole Richie.  No offense to Steve Austin, but he was mostly there for physical humor and his bulging muscles.  Maybe I’m bias since “Cougars” is one of my favorites episodes of all times, but damn I love Heather Chandler.  I personally thought Nicole Richie was superb and delivered her lines perfectly.  I love the Heather/Sarah banter and the way she can just get under Sarah’s skin.  Additionally, I thought Nicole held her own against Yvonne (who is a giant compared to her) in their scenes.  Nicole is no seasoned actress but on all accounts she delivered for me so kudos.

Some other thoughts:

• Casey vs. the voice recognition software was hysterical to me.   Round 1: Casey

• I actually liked how they handled Sarah’s character and what seems to be the theme of having relationship progression each episode.  Where in past episodes Sarah’s fears and issues seem to be forced, this episode seemed to have the issue of kids/moving too fast in the spotlight without forcing it. 

• I was not a huge fan of the “cliffhanger” if you’d even call it that.  One, I thought the “Ready or Not Ready” conversation was super adorable and didn’t call for more.  Two, it wasn’t much of anything since we know there is no real engagement.  It wasn’t a cliffhanger moment like when we thought Awesome could be dead nor was one of those emotional moments we love.  It seemed awkward (like the ring would really fall there!) and forced, and put in there just to be cutsie.  Take note show runners – I want a legitimate engagement.

• I still don’t get the point of Greta.  I could have sworn I read that whoever was in the role would teach Chuck and Morgan how to be a spy.  Either way,  the Greta seems a waste of a good guest star.  I mean Stacy Keibler look hot in the Nerd Herd Outfit but let the girl do more than get punched in the face.

• I miss Alex.

All in all, I’m still loving the season.  However, there might be only 10 episodes left this season and they seem to have a lot to pack into the storyline.  I hope the writers take a note from last season and learn to get to the Mama B story quickly so they can give it the proper attention it deserves.  I also hope for better Buy More scenes that are fresher and don’t seem as much of a burden.  Please Chuck writers, don’t make me use “time machine” on you.

Rules of Commenting:

1. Be nice!
2. No slam poetry.

Chuck vs. the Suitcase: Thoughts from a Ho

The second episode of Chuck was written by the two new favorites of last year,  Lauren LeFranc & Rafe Judkins aka LeFrankin.  This is their 4^th (or 3^rd if you aren’t counting the Teleplay) episode and once again they didn’t disappoint.  Well, at least not me.  It seems this episode was destined to be another one that some people loved while some others didn’t.  I have to say I truly enjoyed this episode as it had all the components I love: great action, a truly romantic scene, some great back and forth, and to top it all off plenty of guest stars.  However, at the end of the day this episode didn’t make it into my elite and I understand why some people didn’t love it as much.  Here are my thoughts:

Redundancy:  I love Chuck but to be fair we’ve seen this all before, and better.  To me the bickering between Chuck and Sarah was funnier in “Role Models.”  The fight scene in “First Kill” was way more epic than the catwalk fight (although I admit I’m not a guy).  The moment now dubbed as the “Feeling Good” scene was more intimate and squee worthy as well.  I’m not knocking this episode but I’m just pointing out I have other favorites.

No big “Wow!” moment: I find that in many of my elite episodes there is a big “Wow!” moment.  For example, last week’s ending with Mama B was a “Wow, omfg!” moment.  This week, despite the catwalk fight and the touching ending, there was no big revelation or shock.  I will say, however, the “You’re my home” line was a damn good line and almost made the scene tie the end of the “Honeymooners.”

Too many guest stars:  When each of these guest stars was announced I was very excited, especially about Mr. Old Spice himself (I’m a girl after all and he’s my Karolina Kurkova).  However, I didn’t realize until last night that they were all in the same episode.  I was surprised how minor Lou Ferrigno’s role was as he is such a big name.  Each of the guests held their own and but I felt there were so many of them that they overshadowed one another. 

Now I feel like I’ve been a little critical of the episode so let me restate that I did in fact enjoy it a whole lot and thought it was excellent.  The rejected Spiderman kiss to the almost last words had me laughing and I had a huge smile on my face when Sarah explained the picture to Chuck.  This season is shaping up to be a great one and I hope people can sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride for who knows how much longer it will last.

Some final thoughts:

• I’m pretty sad Beckman might not be there face-to-face anymore.  I mean who wouldn’t want a faceoff between her and Jeff? 

• Speaking of Jeff, I did love the scene where he was tranqued what for most people would be a deathly amount.  However, I wasn’t necessarily impressed with the return of Jeffster.  I wanted more I suppose.

• With Morgan as the new manager it seems clear to me how Big Mike will fit into the picture.  I wish we would see Morgan as the manager for some time but I do miss the big guy.

• A pretty much perfect ending* paired with an excellent song choice. I have the song “A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard” on repeat.  Sarah saying “You’re my home Chuck, you always have been,” was probably the most intimate things I’ve heard her say.  It is so much deeper than those three little words and coming from Sarah it is a big deal.  Also the scene with Ellie looking at that photo album was so well directed.  I loved it so kudos.
• *I didn’t like Sarah opening her eyes in the end in fear.  It was way too predictable and I don’t think they show needs to continue to be so overt in showing her aversion to “normal” dreams of wanting kids and such.

• Can Yvonne be sexier?  The answer is no.

• Can Captain Awesome be my husband?  The answer is no.  Unfortunately. 

Next week we have a lot of things to look forward to.  We finally get to see what these new writers can do and we have the return of Nicole Richie and Steve Austin.  I’m pretty excited to see the return of Heather Chandler!

So what did you think of the second installment?  Did you like it better than the premiere?

Rules of Commenting:

1. Be Nice!

2. No fights on the catwalk.

And the winner is...

Ivy aka FiliHOno!!!!!!!!

If you didn't know, the NBC store was having a contest to win the most awesome mega-package ever!  The contest was to take a picture with your Chuck gear and send it to the store.  NBC says it was a tough decision but after seeing this picture I'm thinking it was easy.

Congrats Ivy and enjoy your mega-package (remember to share the love).  And thank you to the NBC Store for once again being awesome!

Chuck vs. the Anniversary: Thoughts from a Ho

Chuck is back and us fans were welcomed with a premiere that brilliantly reminded us of why we always fight for this show.  Major kudos to my man crush Fedak who wrote a phenomenal premiere and set the stage to what promises to be an excellent season.

This premiere did what Chuck does best and gave us a little taste of everything.  There was drama, action, romance (although I’m not sure Sarah would be happy to find out who was on the other end of that phone), and most of all comedy.  I laugh a lot during Chuck, but this episode had me hysterical.  Pick a scene, any scene: Beckman at the Buy More, Creepy guy from Big Love as the Chinese loving Repo man, the Buy More slide, or any of the multiple sexting scenes (and I’m certain all the boys want to the pictures Sarah took on their phone).  All of them were funny and more importantly all of them were clever.   Aces Fedak, aces.

This episode also laid the groundwork for the rest of the season.  I think hands down my favorite change in this season is that Beckman is now in charge of the Buy More.  I mean I crack up every time I see her in those green and yellow colors.  On a serious note, however, I’m more in love with the fact that we will see more face-to-face interaction between Beckman and the team.  Some of the funniest moments have been with the General and I cannot wait to see more of them this season.  Can you say Morgan, anyone?

The key aspect of this season, however, is Mama B.  True we only got a few moments with her but Linda Hamilton rocked those seasons and showed us just how awesome Chuck’s Mom is.  The ending was spectacular and my only thoughts after were “man this family reunion is going to be awesome!”  It also convinced me that M.B. doesn’t stand for Mary Bartowski but rather Major Badass.

Some final thoughts:

• Are all the missions going to be centered around finding Mama B?  Chuck is now going back into the spy game so I’ll be curious what the mission is each week and if they split up the teams, Chuck with Morgan and Sarah with Casey, in the episodes.

• What is going to happen to the old Buy More gang?  I would think that they can’t be hired at the new Buy More unless Beckman wants to ensure the fact that the country goes to Defcon 1 but you never know.  I guess we’ll have to wait until next week.

• I cannot wait until Morgan tells Casey he’s dating Alex!  Prepare to be strangled!

• I admit I had a goofy smile plastered on my face during the cute scene where Chuck and Sarah have no problems saying, “I love you.”

• Props to our favorite girl Yvonne Strahovki for her great emotion acting.  I won’t lie and say I didn’t expect more of a verbal outburst, but then I saw those eyes and didn’t they just say it all. 

• A baby Awesome is on the way and I couldn’t be more thrilled!  I like the idea of this side story for Ellie and the Captain and the possibilities it has for some of the other characters as well.  

• Zachary Levi shirtless… ummm yes please!  Sorry I couldn’t help myself.

• Once again I have to mention the guest stars on Chuck are used perfectly.   Although Olivia Munn had a small role she was good, if anything for the eye candy alone.  However, Dolph takes the cake as he had baddie written all over him and was excellent.  Too bad Mama B wasn’t as impressed.

In short, I am very happy where this season seems to be going.  I think the show has it down and I’m as excited as ever to see what surprises show up.   All I will say is that little preview of what’s to come has my screaming for more.

So what did you all think of the episode? 

 

Rules of commenting:

1. Be Nice! (though I can take the heat)

2. No using your EMP bombs.

P.S.  I recently did a re-watch of Season 1.  It is amazing to see how far all of these characters have come and even more so that I still love the show as much today as I did then.  Most of all it is truly amazing how much this cast and crew gives back to us fans.  Happy Season 4 everyone, let's go for 5 :)